River Boat Services for Commuters to the City

brightonroadboy

8 years ago...

Hi - I am new to Surbiton and was just wondering why there isn't a commuter river service from Surbiton and whether it has been discussed in the past at all?

I presume a form of landing would need to be provisioned and I know there are discussions ongoing about Seething Wells generally and what to do but incorporating this and some of the suggestions I have seen of a footbridge/tunnel over to the magnificent parkland i think would be a fantastic idea.

Crossrail 2 is a long way off and the Surbiton line to Waterloo is already heavily congested. I for one would quite happily tolerate the longer journey if we could travel by boat each day and I am sure that the avid train commuters would be very happy for me to do so.

I am sure there are plenty of reasons I am not aware of or may well have stepped into a big debate but information / opinion and general feedback welcomed!

Comments

Anonymous, 8 years ago...

I wouldn't hold out too much hope for Crossrail 2 unfortunately. The new rails only come down as far as Wimbledon, and then run on to Surbiton on the existing lines!

There seems to be very little increase in overall capacity and the risk that a broken down SWT will block CR2 and vice versa. The only saving grace is that the totally overcrowded Waterloo station will be bypassed, hopefully reducing the consistent delays of SWT getting trains in there.

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Anonymous, 8 years ago...

It is the speed limit that would prevent this being an option.

You can only go 8 knots (9 mph) on the stretch between Surbiton and Wandsworth Bridge, and 12 knots (14 mph) after that.

Surbiton is only about 12 miles from Embankment Pier by road, but the way the river twist and turns, you'd have to double that by water.

There is also a stop at Teddington Lock which could take a while. It would definitely be over 2 hours each way. Putney to Embankment is 40 minutes and that is on the 'fast' stretch with no locks.

It is a shame, because I'd definitely use it as well is it was possible.

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